Recap Yeah Yeah Yeahs at First Avenue

Yeah Yeah Yeahs could do no wrong at First Avenue on Saturday night. Touring behind the new It’s Blitz!, the N.Y.C.-based band brought an explosive and effusive performance that took the sold-out crowd on an unabashedly raucous journey.

Warming up the crowd, San Diego’s Grand Ole Party, which bears a surface resemblance to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, came across more with a direct blues-rock style. Lead vocalist and drummer Kristin Gundred, unmistakable behind her drum set up at the front of the stage, sang with a powerful blend of crooning and tart coquettishness, a sharp counterpoint to the jaunty riffs of guitarist John Paul Labno. “Bad Bad Man” got the crowd shaking, but some of the best moments came at the end, when Labno traded in the guitar for a bellowing organ that opened a new dimension of sound.  Grand Ole Party simmered but never exploded—they left that for the headliners.

Despite the synth-pop evolution of It’s Blitz!, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ show stayed rooted in the basics: Brian Chase’s drumming acumen, Nick Zinner’s guitar wizardry, and front woman Karen O doing, well, anything and everything she wants. Almost half the set came from their debut full-length, 2003’s Fever To Tell, and the raw art-punk nicely balanced the more polished vision of the newer material. What remained consistent and exhilarating throughout was the bravura stage presence and fiery glee of Karen O.

Opening song “Heads Will Roll” had her barking orders while wearing a facemask covered with neon-pink whorls. During the racy, profane “Black Tongue,” she punched confetti cannons that shot shimmering purple Y's into the audience. Though her vocals often have a growling timbre, she brought out her softer side on “Gold Lion” and the new ballad "Skeletons," both of which are delicately clear and enchanting.

For some of the newer songs, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had help from multi-instrumentalist David Pajo (who also played solo before Grand Ole Party), and the band seemed at ease and supremely confident during the entire set. Zinner shot photographs of the audience from the stage, and Chase smiled from behind his drum set as Karen O never stopped moving, bending backwards with the mic in her mouth, high stepping, and waving her arms to the crowd. She broke out a studded leather jacket for the infectious ode to nightlife, “Zero.” For the encore's “Maps,” she dedicated the song to young lovers everywhere with the declaration, “This song is about love. L-O-V-E!” She smiled and brought the mic toward her chest like a knife piercing her heart—and the room went wild.

Set list:
"Heads Will Roll"
"Phenomena"
"Black Tongue"
"Dull Life"
"Gold Lion"
"Rich"
"Miles Away"
"Skeletons"
"Pin"
"Zero"
"Y Control"

Encore
"Cheated Hearts"
"Maps"
"Date With The Night"
"Poor Song"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Grand Olde Party

Grand Olde Party

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs